National Security Division Announces New Senior Leadership Hires and Restructuring of Counterespionage Efforts

John P. Carlin, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced strategic changes within the Justice Department’s National Security Division (NSD) designed to put additional focus on the protection of national assets from the threat of state-sponsored economic espionage and proliferation, including through cyberspace. The announcement included new appointments within the NSD’s senior leadership, the creation of a new Deputy Assistant Attorney General Position focusing on protecting national assets and the re-designation of the Anti-Terrorism and Advisory Council (ATAC) Coordinator program as the National Security Coordinator/ATAC program, to better reflect its ongoing work on the full range of national security threats, and to empower United States Attorneys as they conduct outreach on these issues nationwide.

“The threat landscape we face is ever-changing and evolving, and while our top priority will always be combatting terrorism, we must also sharpen our focus and increase our attention on the emerging threats of economic espionage and proliferation,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “We have assembled a talented, dedicated and experienced team of seasoned professionals to launch this new phase for the National Security Division. These changes will help us continue confronting today’s threats while readying the NSD workforce to engage what we see as the key emerging threats to our national security.”

The changes announced included the appointment of a new Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and a new Chief of Staff and Counselor, as well as the creation of a new Deputy Assistant Attorney General position to oversee NSD’s efforts to protect national assets, including its efforts to combat economic espionage, proliferation, and cyber-based national security threats, and its work on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. This position will oversee the work of the National Security Cyber Specialists (NSCS) Network, consisting of prosecutors in each of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices who focus on cyber threats to the national security.

The new NSD leadership team members include Mary B. McCord to serve as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General; Anita M. Singh as Chief of Staff and Counselor; and Luke Dembosky as the newest Deputy Assistant Attorney General.

Mary B. McCord,Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General: McCord joined NSD from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she served for nearly 20 years, most recently as the Criminal Division Chief. In that capacity, McCord supervised the prosecution of all criminal matters in federal district court, and is highly regarded for her expertise in this area. McCord also served for more than five years as a Deputy Chief in the Appellate Division, where she supervised and argued hundreds of cases in the U.S. and District of Columbia Courts of Appeals. McCord graduated from Georgetown University Law School, and clerked for Judge Thomas Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Anita M. Singh, Chief of Staff and Counselor: Singh was appointed Chief of Staff and Counselor after serving as the NSD Acting Chief of Staff for nearly a year and a half. Singh joined NSD as Deputy Chief of Staff in 2011 after serving as Director for Intelligence Programs and Reform at the White House on the National Security Council staff, where she focused on cyber-related issues. As NSD’s Chief of Staff, Singh focuses on strategic management issues, including the design of structural changes to support work in emerging threat areas. Singh began her legal career through the DOJ’s Honors Program, serving in the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and later as a Counsel, focused on cybersecurity, to several Assistant Attorneys General. Prior to entering government service, Singh was a management strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. She graduated with her J.D. and A.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Luke Dembosky, Deputy Assistant Attorney General: Dembosky joins NSD from DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section where he served as Deputy Chief for Litigation. Dembosky previously served as the DOJ representative at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, where he represented DOJ to Russia on matters of transnational crime, including cybercrime and IP crimes, and worked with Russian law enforcement and other government officials to build cooperation between the two countries. Prior to working in Moscow, Dembosky was based in Pittsburgh as a member of DOJ’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) network of federal prosecutors. He has been involved in some of the largest and most groundbreaking cybercrime prosecutions and disruptions in U.S. history, including the recent GameOver Zeus botnet disruption, coordination of the Silk Road takedown, and U.S. v. Max Ray Butler. Prior to entering government service, Dembosky worked in civil practice at a Philadelphia law firm. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and clerked for Judge Richard L. Nygaard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Dembosky will manage NSD’s newly created portfolio covering protection of national assets, including efforts to combat economic espionage, proliferation, and cyber-based national security threats, and its work on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. He will also oversee NSD’s Office for Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism.

Re-designation: The Anti-Terrorism and Advisory Council (ATAC) Coordinator program will be re-designated as the National Security Coordinator/ATAC program, to better reflect its ongoing work on the full range of national security threats, including combating economic espionage and counterproliferation.